The mother of all blinking folder/question mark posts.

So here's another question mark/blinking folder post, only I've narrowed things down quite a bit. Let's start from the top.
Powermac G4 quicksilver won't boot, and will only show the infamous blinking folder icon.
-unplugged keyboard and mouse
-unplugged SCSI interface
-unplugged CD drive
-tested memory, all ok
-changed slot RAM uses
-booted with X held down
-booted with C held down
-booted with SHIFT held down
-booted with Option held down (brought up screen with two buttons, but no bootable devices)
-Cleared PRAM
-Cleared NVRAM
-Replaced battery
All of the usual tasks and no results. Dead drive, right? Nope. It won't boot through the HD, or any normally bootable CDs, but when I access Open Firmware (Control+Z), I'm able to view all of the HD's contents (dir hd:\) and all of the contents from whatever CD I put in there (dir cd:\). As it can read from both, but will boot from neither, I'm now thinking it has something to do with the main board.
Has anyone else exhausted the blinking folder issue to the point I have, and still found results somehow? I'll be hooking it up to another mac via firewire tomorrow, but the unbootable CD makes me think that's not the solution. Any ideas on where to go from here? It's way out of warranty by the way.
Thanks in advance for your time everyone!

Hi-
Welcome to Discussions!
Next step, download a copy of the Apple Hardware test, and burn it to CD. I know, your QS isn't cooperating, so I hope you have access to another Mac.
http://www.info.apple.com/support/aht.html
Hopefully the machine will run the AHT fine, and you can run a hardware test. I'm hoping not, but could be the ATA controller on the MOBO.
BTW- you didn't mention booting into single user and running fsck. See what that results in. Startup holding command+s. After the prompt type +/sbin/fsck -fy+ (that is a space between fsck and -fy). Press Return, and see what happens:
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=106214

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